Walt Disney World SWAN, DOLPHIN & SWAN RESERVE RESORTS Information & Questions

[ww52]

Grotto - despite the very pertinent points samara mentions. Especially with a 12 year old. The water slide alone will make him/her wish they were over there.

Certainly both adults will have to be vigilant and it won't be "relaxing" - but I assume you are WELL familiar with that concept!

 

[ww52]

Any advantage of Swan vs Dolphin?

We've stayed at both. We always preferred Swan because it was smaller and not as crowded in the lobbies etc.

But in 2018 we stayed at the recently remodeled Dolphin because the alcove rooms saved us money over 4 individual rooms at the Swan. We enjoyed it just as much. The lobby area is huge though and for some that's a detriment.

Plus I think it's true that the Swan has two queen beds in many/most rooms with two beds versus two twins in the Dolphin.

Amenities of course are shared except I assume there are different bus stops.

I doubt that gives you enough info to decide but I sort of wanted to "bump" your question up for others to see and comment on.

 

[AUDramaQueen]

Any advantage of Swan vs Dolphin? Do they have busses to the parks just like the Disney owned hotels (I know Magical Express doesn't go there).

We went with the Swan because the beds are bigger and there is a second sink outside the bathroom.

They do have busses to the parks but the Magic Kingdom bus stops at the TTC instead of the regular resort bus loop. You'll see many times in this thread that it's recommended you walk to the Boardwalk or Yacht and Beach Club and take their bus to Magic Kingdom if you are able.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Any advantage of Swan vs Dolphin?

I prefer the Swan, smaller, more compact. Typically bus stop is before the Dolphin. Two sinks in the bathroom area, one inside the shower toilet area, the other outside that area. As said above, the beds, queen vs. doubles. Not much of a reason, but it is a bit closer to the BW area as well as DS and Epcot.

 

[Gitelfor]

Previous posters have inquired about transportation to Disney’s golf courses, for Swan and Dolphin guests. There is a golf package, which includes transportation.

Take Your Best Shot
Experience Disney’s Championship Golf Courses plus enjoy a stay in one of our luxurious guest rooms! Packages available for single golfers or for parties of two. Includes special room rate, one round of golf, and transportation to and from the course.
Contact our reservations team at 1-888-828-8850 . Ask for the “Take Your Best Shot” experience or mention rate code XPK. Rates vary at time of booking. Contact us today for complete offer details.

 

[Tom_E_D]

We've stayed at both. We always preferred Swan because it was smaller and not as crowded in the lobbies etc.

But in 2018 we stayed at the recently remodeled Dolphin because the alcove rooms saved us money over 4 individual rooms at the Swan. We enjoyed it just as much. The lobby area is huge though and for some that's a detriment.

Plus I think it's true that the Swan has two queen beds in many/most rooms with two beds versus two twins in the Dolphin.

Amenities of course are shared except I assume there are different bus stops.

I doubt that gives you enough info to decide but I sort of wanted to "bump" your question up for others to see and comment on.

Dolphin has two full size beds (a/k/a doubles), not two twins. Two twins would be a BIG difference.

 

[The13thLetter]

I prefer the Swan, smaller, more compact. Typically bus stop is before the Dolphin. Two sinks in the bathroom area, one inside the shower toilet area, the other outside that area. As said above, the beds, queen vs. doubles. Not much of a reason, but it is a bit closer to the BW area as well as DS and Epcot.

Do they share busses often? Last stay at Swan we had our own buses to and from the parks, but maybe that was because of Covid restrictions.

 

[LexiC123]

We usually stay at the Swan, but the Dolphin has better rates for early December. My question is: do the Dolphin Alcove rooms have the same bathroom configuration as a regular room (tub/toilet in one room - single sink outside), or do any of them have a second sink area, similar to the Swan?

Thanks!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Do they share busses often? Last stay at Swan we had our own buses to and from the parks, but maybe that was because of Covid restrictions.

Any of my many stays there (pre-COVID), the bus was always shared by both Swan and Dolphin. I could not give you a definitive answer now, but know others for sure can.

 

[ww52]

Dolphin has two full size beds (a/k/a doubles), not two twins. Two twins would be a BIG difference.

Thanks for the correction - I got my bed terminology wrong.

 

[sheri18]

I would second the grotto recommendation, because the grotto is a much bigger pool with play areas for your littlest ones. That being said, you will have to leave your cabana to accompany the littles to those areas; they can’t be seen from the cabanas. Likewise, the area where your older kids will probably want to be isn’t easily watched from the kid play areas. So it kind of depends on what kind of cabana day you are looking for. If you want to be able to hang out at the cabana and watch all of the kids, then the Swan lap pool might be easier.

Thank you for the information..but I’m so confused..lol.

 

[jimrpa]

We went with the Swan because the beds are bigger and there is a second sink outside the bathroom.

They do have busses to the parks but the Magic Kingdom bus stops at the TTC instead of the regular resort bus loop. You'll see many times in this thread that it's recommended you walk to the Boardwalk or Yacht and Beach Club and take their bus to Magic Kingdom if you are able.

If you don’t mind a bit of a walk, you CAN walk from TTC to MK. You take the walkway to Poly, then walk over to GF, then take the walkway over to MK. It’s about a 20 minute walk.

 

[jimrpa]

Any of my many stays there (pre-COVID), the bus was always shared by both Swan and Dolphin. I could not give you a definitive answer now, but know others for sure can.

The swan/Dolphin/Swan Reserve share busses. Since the Sean Reserve is not yet open, the MK, AK, and DD busses only stop at S & D. They always stop first at Swan, then Dolphin. They are now Disney-style busses that accommodate the electric scooters. They’re “wrapped” with very prominent Swan/Dolphin/Swan Reserve branding, just like the BC, JW, and 4S busses are. I believe their schedule is similar to the Disney bus schedules.

 

[Dan Murphy]

If you don’t mind a bit of a walk, you CAN walk from TTC to MK. You take the walkway to Poly, then walk over to GF, then take the walkway over to MK. It’s about a 20 minute walk.

Not sure when it will reopen, or if it already has reopened.

www.wdwmagic.com/resorts/disneys-polynesian-resort/news/14jun2021-walkway-between-grand-floridan-and-polynesian-resort-currently-closed.htm

 

[jimrpa]

is Dolphin currently offering housekeeping everyday? I’ve heard regular Disney resorts don’t have housekeeping everyday due to understaffing… is Dolphin different because it is Marriott?

Daily Housekeeping? Yeah, good luck with that one! I’m Lifetime Titanium with Marriott (things don’t get much better) and the front desk flat-out told me that there was no way I could get daily housekeeping. They only cleaned the rooms after the 3rd and 6th days of a stay. When I made a bit of a fuss, they said I could call each day and request housekeeping, but it wouldn’t be guaranteed. I requested it each day of my stay and got it twice. Oh, and I was upgraded to a Governor’s Suite, so it’s not like I was some schmuck on a Priceline reservation in a low-floor parking-lot view room.
it is possible to get fresh towels though, otherwise, learn how to make your own bed. This is a sore subject with me that I’ve whined at Marriott about (to no avail). I think it might be to maintain parity with Disney that announced they are no longer offering daily housekeeping at their resorts.

 

[Lsdolphin]

My buddy, Ray Sharpton, has a post here (from 2018) on that question. However, I would call Mears to verify.

www.disboards.com/threads/mears-wheelchair-scooter-accessible-taxi.3705579/post-59720278

Ray Sharpton hasn’t posted in a while I hope he is alright. I’ve found his posts to be of great value.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Ray Sharpton hasn’t posted in a while I hope he is alright. I’ve found his posts to be of great value.

Calling Ray!!

 

[The13thLetter]

The swan/Dolphin/Swan Reserve share busses. Since the Sean Reserve is not yet open, the MK, AK, and DD busses only stop at S & D. They always stop first at Swan, then Dolphin. They are now Disney-style busses that accommodate the electric scooters. They’re “wrapped” with very prominent Swan/Dolphin/Swan Reserve branding, just like the BC, JW, and 4S busses are. I believe their schedule is similar to the Disney bus schedules.

When were they updated to disney wrapped buses? Everything I read recently said they are now mears buses and cannot even drop off directly at the parks (MK is TTC and AK is a different spot close to the main buses).

Edit* - sorry, i misread what you wrote. makes sense now.

 

[jimrpa]

When were they updated to disney wrapped buses? Everything I read recently said they are now mears buses and cannot even drop off directly at the parks (MK is TTC and AK is a different spot close to the main buses).

When I stayed there over memorial day weekend. They're NOT Disney buses. They're just the same model as Disney buses. I did not say that they drop off/pick up at Disney busses In fact, you'll note that I specifically talked about walking from TTC to MK (and someone nicely pointed out that the path from Poly to GF is/was closed)

To be clear - the busses are not Disney buses. They are the same model as the Disney buses with the fold-up seats that can accommodate the electric scooters. They are wrapped in Swan/Dolphin/Swan Reserve branding, not the Disney branding. They do not drop off at the locations Disney busses use in the parks, they drop off at the non-Disney resort locations in the parks. For AK, this is a pretty convenient location. For MK, this is TTC, for DS, this is over behind Cirque (not too terribly bad).

 

[Scalemaster34]

When were they updated to disney wrapped buses? Everything I read recently said they are now mears buses and cannot even drop off directly at the parks (MK is TTC and AK is a different spot close to the main buses).

Edit* - sorry, i misread what you wrote. makes sense now.

Looking at a trip next year... noticed Resort Fees are now showing as $35 a night. Maybe that's to get them back on the Disney Transportation?